Today we give thanks.
This does not mean that we are not thankful on other days of the year,
but this day in our American culture we pause and reflect with a grateful
heart.
This year I am thankful for a number of things that
previously I, like many, would have categorized as “little things.” I am thankful for the ability to walk. I
am thankful for warm boots in the snow, and a car that starts every morning
(though I likely just jinxed myself by writing that). I am thankful for the ability to see my book to have
mobility in my fingers to be able to hold it.
AND…
I am thankful for the kindness of strangers and for good
friends who tell you want you need to hear even when it is hard. I am thankful to be surrounded by
people who love me (including my idiosyncrasies, not despite them). There is a lot for which we can be
thankful.
This year also has taught me the important lessons of impermanence.
The Buddhist monks teach that all existence is in a state of motion or
flux, and this sentiment is echoed in the Judeo-Christian experience as well in
the pursuit of a union with God.
Good jobs come to an end. Friends move across country. Highly functioning teams break up. The aged, the ill, and the unlucky pass away. Children lose touch with parents. Siblings fight. Spouses grow apart. People change.
There are a lot of reasons why people come and go from our
lives, and more often than not those departures are painful. Lately, I’ve tried hard to focus on the
value that comes from having people in our lives, no matter for how long. I’m calling this exercise Grateful Acceptance. It’s about the framework, like
remembering college friends I haven’t spoken with in a decade; or reflecting on
kids I tutored while in AmeriCorps; or thinking about the kid who beat me up in
middle school; or the guy I passed on the street…
“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
I remember a morning while I was in high school; my dad and
I were up running errands early on a Saturday morning. Between stops we headed into a
restaurant for breakfast. On the
way in a homeless man asked if we could spare some money so he could get
something to eat. Without missing
a beat my dad said, “No, but if you would like to come in and eat with us I’ll
buy your breakfast.” I’m not sure
who was more surprised the stranger or me. And that’s what we did, on a random day in 1995.
That day had a profound impact on my life. It opened the door for one of the most
important conversations I’ve ever had with my dad. It allowed me to see, first hand, the lesson that “we never know
how much of an impact the little things we do will have on people.” It allowed me to see love in action.
So today, I am thankful for those who have shown great love
through small acts of service.
I am grateful for all of the people who are and have been a part of my
life, because every one has helped me become the man I am today.
